It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our friend and colleague Dominick J. Misino.
As a detective serving as the primary negotiator of the NYPD’s world renowned Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT), Dominick and his team had responded to and successfully resolved over 200 incidents without losing a single life.
One of the most notable incidents in which Dominick had responded and successfully negotiated was the hijacking of Lufthanasa Flight 592. In February of 1993, a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Frankfort, Germany to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was hijacked by a man named Nebiu Demeke. Demeke armed with a starting pistol believed to be a real firearm forced the pilot to fly the plane to John F. Kenney International Airport in New York City. The plane landed and taxied to a remote part of the runaway at JFK at around 4:00pm EDT. A three-man HNT consisting of Dominick Misino (NYPD), John Flood (FBI) and Carmine Spano (Port Authority) assembled within the airport’s air traffic control tower established radio communications with the hijacker. After speaking with Dominick, Demeke was persuaded to trade his pistol for the pilot’s sunglasses and surrendered peacefully to the authorities. All 94 passengers and the 10 crew members were unharmed.
After his retirement from the NYPD in 1995, Dominick developed and delivered training to law enforcement, military and civilian corporations both in the U.S. and overseas including the US Army Criminal Investigations Division, UN Security Service and Military Counter-Terrorist Teams. Law enforcement personnel representing over 4,000 agencies were trained by Dominick in the U.S. alone.
Dominick’s other life achievements include the authoring of (2) books “Negotiate & Win: Proven Strategies from the NYPD’s Top Negotiator” and “Negotiating in the Big Apple” as well as the founding of the International Association of Hostage Negotiators (IAHN) a web-based association designed to help bring together those wanting to share their experiences, information about their profession and to help others learn the art of negotiation. Also with Dominick’s help, six hostage situations were brought to national television by the Discovery Channel in the series “Hostage: Do or Die.” Dominick developed and hosted the series and starred in one of the episodes.
Dominick was also an avid outdoorsman and craftsman. He enjoyed hunting and fishing with his friends and family, making his own arrows and arrowheads for his long bow and collecting railroad spikes to craft into custom made knives on his forge.
Dominick served as an invaluable resource in the initial development of our company’s Direct-Link Crisis Response Throw Phone Systems which are now used by over 1,000 law enforcement, military and correctional agencies worldwide.
One quote that Dominick loved most was “He Who Saves a Single Life, Saves the World Entire.” During his life, Dominick saved and enriched the lives of thousands and the legacy he leaves behind will save and enrich countless more.
All of us at ETGI will greatly miss Dominick and we extend our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends and loved ones during this time of sorrow.
In Paim Memoriam Dominick J. Misino 1950 – 2013 Requiescat In Pace
